Finn McQuaid

Tuberculosis- learning about experience with nutritional supplementation (TB LENS): Perspectives on a nutritional supplementation for persons with TB and their household contacts Undernutrition is a major driver of the tuberculosis (TB) epidemic, with one in five TB cases worldwide attributable to undernutrition. Nutritional interventions may reduce TB incidence and mortali...

Everyone in TB talks about “nutrition matters.”

But what happens when you actually ask households with TB what kind of nutritional support works for them?

We did exactly that through the TB LENS qualitative study in South India.

tinyurl.com/mr42k9k8

#2 Epidemiological modelling of the impact and mitigation of climate change on tuberculosis
mrc-lid.lshtm.ac.uk/2026-27-proj...
with myself, @mjsaunder.bsky.social & Helen Stagg

Another successful "Intro to TB Modelling" course in Copenhagen at #WLHC2025. Over 70 joined to learn about TB modelling!

Followed by the now-traditional TB Modelling and Analysis Consortium social, which was also very well-attended and a lot of fun.

#5 Mathematical modelling and clinical trial simulation of TB prevention
mrc-lid.lshtm.ac.uk/2026-27-proj...
with Tom Sumner, @raclark18.bsky.social & @danieljgrint.bsky.social

#4 Investigating the effect of influenza on risk of tuberculosis in South Africa
mrc-lid.lshtm.ac.uk/2026-27-proj...
with Pally Khan, Nicky McCreesh & Tom Sumner

#3 How should countries deliver new TB vaccines when risk factors are considered?
mrc-lid.lshtm.ac.uk/2026-27-proj...
with @raclark18.bsky.social & @richardwhite321.bsky.social

#2 Epidemiological modelling of the impact and mitigation of climate change on tuberculosis
mrc-lid.lshtm.ac.uk/2026-27-proj...
with myself, @mjsaunder.bsky.social & Helen Stagg

#1 Epidemiological impact of heterogeneity in community screening for tuberculosis
mrc-lid.lshtm.ac.uk/2026-27-proj...
with @kchorton.bsky.social & @reinhouben.bsky.social

Information for applicants - MRC London Intercollegiate Doctoral Training Partnership Studentships MRC LID studentship information for applicants How to Apply Projects Studentship funding Studentship options Studentship...

@lshtm-tbmod.bsky.social is offering multiple PhD opportunities through MRC LID, deadline 14 Jan. More details: mrc-lid.lshtm.ac.uk/applicants/
Projects include
#1 TB & screening
#2 TB & climate change
#3 TB & vaccines
#4 TB & influenza
#5 TB & prevention
@cmmid-lshtm.bsky.social @lshtm.bsky.social

What’s a #UnionConf without the TB modelling course? Packed room again for a long day of intro to modelling.
@lshtm-tbmod.bsky.social @tb-mac.bsky.social #WCLH2025 #TBSky

🌍 Climate change and #tuberculosis

🔹 Commissioned by @whowpro.bsky.social, the authors developed an analytical framework outlining potential causal relationships between climate change and TB, highlighting the need to consider TB as a climate-sensitive disease

🖇️ tinyurl.com/4ccn5kad

🎙️ @cfmcquaid.bsky.social and Matthew J Saunders also joined Deputy Editor, Arianna Colosio, for a podcast to discuss the piece

🎧 Listen here: www.buzzsprout.com/1459960/epis...

Combining demographic shifts with age-based resistance prevalence to estimate future antimicrobial resistance burden in Europe and implications for targets: A modelling study Author summary Why was this study done? Infections caused by bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics are a major and growing threat to public health. Older adults and men are at higher risk of...

How will population shifts affect the future burden of #AMR? 👶👩‍🦳 🧫

We use a new modelling framework to explore future projections of #AMR by age and by sex, as well as interventions for control, building on our earlier findings that AMR isn’t uniform across demographics.

doi.org/10.1371/jour...

Tuberculosis and climate change: analytical framework and knowledge gaps This report explores the intersection of tuberculosis (TB) and climate change, highlighting how climate-related challenges such as food and water insecurity, displacement, and disrupted healthcare acc...

WHO framework here: www.who.int/publications...

@mjsaunder.bsky.social
@dopapus.bsky.social
@laragosce.bsky.social
@gasparrini.bsky.social
@raclark18.bsky.social
@juliapescarini.bsky.social
@richardwhite321.bsky.social
@reinhouben.bsky.social
@lshtm-tbmod.bsky.social
@tb-lshtm.bsky.social
@lshtm.bsky.social

There's an urgent need for integration of TB response into national, regional & global climate response strategies, esp in areas with high burden of TB. Failure to act will not only stall progress to #endTB but will also exacerbate global health inequities and social disparities

But no studies directly linking climate change and TB, warranting research to build evidence for action

We reviewed the literature for key pathways, including food and water insecurity, displacement, and disrupted healthcare access. We found extensive evidence supporting the existence of plausible links between climate change and TB

We drew on existing knowledge of TB determinants, identified those likely to be sensitive to the effects of climate change, and conceptualised mechanistic pathways through which this might occur

Climate change and tuberculosis: an analytical framework Climate change is likely to exacerbate a range of determinants that drive tuberculosis, the world's leading cause of death from a single infectious agent. However, tuberculosis is often neglected in w...

Our framework that informed the @who.int TB & climate change policy brief out now in @lancetrespirmed.bsky.social, exploring the intersections and implications of climate change for the TB epidemic. Key message? TB should be considered a climate-sensitive disease
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Tuberculosis and undernutrition: improving estimates to reinforce the policy imperative Undernutrition is a key driver of the global tuberculosis epidemic, increasing the risk of people developing tuberculosis disease and of poor outcomes in those who do.1 Each year, WHO publishes estima...

New comment:

Tuberculosis and undernutrition: improving estimates to reinforce the policy imperative

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Body mass index and tuberculosis risk: an updated systematic literature review and dose–response meta-analysis AbstractBackground. The relationship between nutritional status and tuberculosis is critically important but poorly understood. We extended a 2009 review c

We think our recent review provides a better estimate of the RR leading to a much higher PAF, demonstrating the importance of addressing undernutrition to prevent TB.
academic.oup.com/ije/article/...

Tuberculosis and undernutrition: improving estimates to reinforce the policy imperative Undernutrition is a key driver of the global tuberculosis epidemic, increasing the risk of people developing tuberculosis disease and of poor outcomes in those who do.1 Each year, WHO publishes estima...

“Wow, I saw in the last GTB report undernutrition is much less important for TB than we previously thought” I hear you say…
Well, no. We think this is an underestimate, & as much as 28% of TB could be attributable to undernutrition – see our latest comment here: www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Impact of fluoroquinolone resistance on the cost-effectiveness of empiric treatment for multidrug- or rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis The WHO recommends the bedaquiline, pretomanid, and linezolid (BPaL) regimen with the additional fluoroquinolone antibiotic moxifloxacin (BPaLM) for initial treatment of multidrug- or rifampicin-resis...

When fluoroquinolone resistance status is unknown, empirical use of BPaLM (adding moxifloxacin to BPaL) is cost-effective as a replacement for BPaL even with high fluoroquinolone resistance levels! 🦠💊

doi.org/10.1371/jour...

A global analysis of patterns of tuberculosis exposure and transmission Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health concern and the leading infectious cause of mortality globally. The disease exhibits strong prevalence patterns by age and sex, but the implications of these...

Understanding patterns of #TB exposure and transmission is needed for targeted prevention strategies. In our latest pre-print, @petedodd24.bsky.social and I estimated the proportion of TB exposure to and transmission from sex and age groups for 177 countries.

bit.ly/4nbV492

Do no harm - re-evaluating the risks of overtreatment in community-wide tuberculosis screening Background Community-wide screening is a crucial strategy to end tuberculosis (TB), but a common concern is potential harm from overtreatment following false positive diagnoses. However, current refer...

In a new preprint (NOT PEER REVIEWED) we continue to explore the challenge of overtreatment in community screening. It seems the benefits of TB treatment far outweigh the harms, especially once we accept that sputum culture is not perfect. Important food for thought. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...

New approaches for modelling tuberculosis transmission in low incidence settings at University of Bristol on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - New approaches for modelling tuberculosis transmission in low incidence settings at University of Bristol, listed on FindAPhD.com

PhD opportunity: New approaches to modelling TB transmission in low-incidence settings.
Supervised by Ellen Brooks-Pollock (Bristol), me (Bath) & Rajeka Lazarus (Bristol)
Apply: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Deadline 20 Oct
#PhD #Tuberculosis #Epidemiology #InfectiousDisease

Our systematic review of rural/urban differences in #TB prevalence shows evidence of rapidly urbanising epidemics in many settings, with differences across countries and regions.

Link to preprint below ⬇️

World maps of additional child tb & tb deaths

More projected impacts of cuts to international health aid on paediatric #tuberculosis urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=htt...

@who.int is appalled by the latest evacuation order, demanding 1 million people to move from Gaza City to a “humanitarian zone” in the south.

To civilians: WHO and partners remain in Gaza City.

To the intl. community: Act.

This catastrophe is human-made, & the responsibility rests with us all.